Wireless monitoring of tools and equipment has been a reality for over a decade. Adapted from the manufacturing world, sensor technology—such as RFID tags—keep an eye on the jobsite, from hand tools to tower cranes.
"Last year, we introduced PROTOid, a line of sockets and wrenches with embedded RFID tags in the tool itself," says Susan Hebrank, marketing services coordinator for CribMaster, which offers fully automated, mobile tool cribs. Stanley Black & Decker, which owns CribMaster, acquired Aeroscout, a maker of real-time locating systems, in 2012. The firm is looking to bring its active wireless location technology to tools, says Hebrank.